Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
1King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. | 1King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh's daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. |
2These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. | 2They came from nations about which the LORD had warned the Israelites, "You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods." But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. |
3He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. | 3He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. |
4For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. | 4When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. |
5Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. | 5Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. |
6So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely. | 6Solomon did evil in the LORD's sight; he did not remain loyal to the LORD, like his father David had. |
7At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. | 7Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. |
8He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. | 8He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. |
9Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. | 9The LORD was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions |
10Although He had warned Solomon explicitly not to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command. | 10and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the LORD's command. |
11Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. | 11So the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. |
12Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. | 12However, for your father David's sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son's hand instead. |
13Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.” | 13But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David's sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem." |
14Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. | 14The LORD brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. |
15Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom. | 15During David's campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. |
16Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom. | 16For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. |
17But Hadad, still just a young boy, had fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites who were servants of his father. | 17Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father's Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. |
18Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. | 18They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land. |
19There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife. | 19Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes' sister) as a wife. |
20And the sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad a son named Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace, and Genubath lived there among the sons of Pharaoh. | 20Tahpenes' sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh's palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh's palace among Pharaoh's sons. |
21When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had rested with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.” | 21While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, "Give me permission to leave so I can return to my homeland." |
22But Pharaoh asked him, “What have you lacked here with me that you suddenly want to go back to your own country?” “Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but please let me go.” | 22Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave." |
23And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah, | 23God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. |
24and had gathered men to himself. When David killed the Zobaites, Rezon captained a band of raiders and went to Damascus, where they settled and gained control. | 24He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. |
25Rezon was Israel’s enemy throughout the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled over Aram with hostility toward Israel. | 25He was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria. |
26Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king, | 26Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. |
27and this is the account of his rebellion against the king. Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. | 27This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. |
28Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph. | 28Jeroboam was a talented man; when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe of Joseph. |
29During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field. | 29At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah was wearing a brand new robe, |
30And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces, | 30and he grabbed the robe and tore it into twelve pieces. |
31and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes. | 31Then he told Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces, for this is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon's hand and I will give ten tribes to you. |
32But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. | 32He will retain one tribe, for my servant David's sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. |
33For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did. | 33I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did. |
34Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David My servant, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and statutes. | 34I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. |
35But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from the hand of his son and give them to you. | 35I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. |
36I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name. | 36I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David's dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. |
37But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel. | 37I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. |
38If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. | 38You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; I will give you Israel. |
39Because of this, I will humble David’s descendants—but not forever.’ ” | 39I will humiliate David's descendants because of this, but not forever." |
40Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon. | 40Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died. |
41As for the rest of the acts of Solomon—all that he did, as well as his wisdom—are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? | 41The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon. |
42Thus the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. | 42Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. |
43And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place. | 43Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king. |
|